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Growth · March 5, 2014

Softcover – A publishing platform from the author of the Rails Tutorial

Advanced self-publishing tools to let tech-savvy writers produce ebooks, publish them for sale online, find an audience, and build a business.

Softcover – A publishing platform from the author of the Rails Tutorial launched on March 5, 2014 with 208 votes, #21 of 1,224 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 12 years on.

Visit softcover.io ↗Alternativestop 2% of March 2014

In plain words

Softcover is a self-publishing platform that helps technical authors create and sell ebooks. It lets writers build multi-format ebooks in HTML, EPUB, MOBI, and PDF from shared source files, bundle them with videos or other media, and publish directly to Softcover's sales platform with a single command. The platform is designed for tech-savvy authors who want to produce professional ebooks and reach customers without friction.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Softcover is a publishing platform based on the production system and business model used by the Ruby on Rails Tutorial by Michael Hartl. Using Softcover, authors can build multi-format ebooks (HTML, EPUB, MOBI, and PDF) from common source files, optionally bundle them with media like screencast videos, and publish them to Softcover’s integrated sales platform with a single command. Sign Up Now - Become anfrom softcover.io

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Source: Show HN post ↗

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